In order to find the truth of their situation, Davis and his team went to the Digital World with Hackmon to investigate a place called the Cave of Wise, a place that knows and shows all. They already got a few answers as to why Meicoomon was targeted, the center of their previous conflict, and what might be going on. They have reason to believe that forces from the World of Darkness, home to an area they know as the Dark Ocean, might be the source of all this. As they were still wanting some answers, the cave showed an image of someone in a white robe. Wanting to know, they all followed who it might be.
"What are we seeing now?" Yolei questioned.
"No clue, but let's just see." Hawkmon said.
"I think I might have an idea." Ken said. "Take a good look at what it's wearing." All of them looked at the projection and saw what it was wearing. "Those look like the same robes Gennai wore."
"You're right, but is that Gennai we're seeing?" Cody questioned. Something about this felt off, but Davis felt it the worst. Something in his gut was just getting to him.
"Davis..." Kari said as she reached for his shoulder, but he just brushed it off.
"I'm fine." Davis said.
"Davis, how long are you going to be mad with us?" Kari asked.
"I'm not... I'm not mad right now." Davis said. "I'm just a little distracted. Something about this..." As they went deeper into the cave, Davis felt like he was back at his dream. They kept following the mysterious projection until it just vanished.
"It's gone?" T.K. said.
"Guys, it looks like there's something up ahead." Patamon said. All of them looked and could see something up ahead. It looked like a giant door, and it was the same one Davis saw in his dream. It completely surprised him to see it now.
"Davis? What's wrong?" Veemon asked.
"Veemon... Hawkmon... Armadillomon... How are you two feeling right now?" Davis asked.
"Us? I feel perfectly fine." Hawkmon said.
"Me too." Armadillomon claimed. That's what they thought, but when they took a moment, they were feeling a little odd. "Actually, now that you mention it, something about this place is giving me the willies."
"Same here. It's eerie." Veemon said as all three of them didn't like this anymore.
"I say we open it. There's something back there that we must know about." Hackmon claimed.
"But how do we even open it?" Veemon said. All of them wondering what they were going to do to get it open. Just then, the door opened for them. This wasn't good for them, but they needed to see what was in there. All of them carefully moved inside the strange door that opened for them. All of them stepped inside with their eyes adjusting. Once they were inside, they saw the remains of what appeared to be an abandon lab.
"Is this a lab?" Kari questioned.
"A lab for what?" Gatomon questioned. The cave answered for them as the place was filling with the strange fog and showed them what the lab was for. They saw images of how the lab looked active and someone in the same white robes was there. When she removed her hood, they saw it was a woman with blonde hair.
"Who is she?" Wormmon questioned.
"She looks...familiar." Veemon said as he could feel it. "I don't know why."
"Is it ready?" All of them could see her talking to a blue light that shined in the air.
"It will be." The woman said. "I'm using what tech I could salvage from before to aid in this."
"Tech she could salvage?" Yolei questioned.
"From what? Who is she?" T.K. said. That was when the entire scenery changed around them. They all found themselves in a different lab now, but it looked like it was being attacked.
"Where are we?" Davis questioned.
"Kari! Look!" Gatomon said. All of them look and saw a familiar face.
"Piedmon!" Kari said.
"And I see Gennai!" T.K. said as they could see an old friend and an old enemy. "Wait! I remember seeing this before! It was when we were shown why we were chosen to be the digidestined. That was back when we were fighting the four Dark Masters."
"You're right...and look there!" Kari said as she saw something. They saw the woman from before being chased by evil digimon, but they saw her escape through a hatch while everyone else was being attacked. "Hold on. Did this woman work with Gennai?"
"I remember we were shown this attack, but I thought Gennai was the only one that survived." T.K. said.
"It looks like she did as well." Ken said. Then, the scene changed back to the lab they found with her working. It looked like she was taking care of three digieggs.
"All three of them are doing rather well. All three are compatible with the ancient form of digivolution." The woman said.
"Good. A time might come when this power is needed. We must bring it back to life." The light said.
"Wait. That voice... Could that be Azulongmon?" Hackmon questioned.
"Azulongmon?!" Davis said as they all remembered that large digimon and watch carefully.
"Azulongmon never told us anything about this." Yolei said.
"It will work. You and the other Harmonious Ones have shared you power to help form the crests." The woman said as she was working on something. "This power will help should darkness ever grow stronger." They all watched her work on the eggs and build something. What she was building was unreal, as were when the eggs hatched and out came three familiar digimon.
"Those are..." Hawkmon stuttered.
"They're us!" Veemon said as he, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon were shocked. They saw their three friends in their baby forms and then saw them grow in the care of that woman. They then grew as the three digimon they've come to know thanks to her. It was sort of like how a mother takes care of their children. As she took care of them, she was finishing the final pieces.
"It will be done. These hold life and power, but the power of the crests flow through them." The woman said. "The ones that are meant to wield them will be the ones to use this power." She finished the final pieces and what she was building formed and they couldn't believe what it was. She formed a series of special digieggs.
"Those are the same digieggs we use for armor digivolving!" Cody said. They then watched the woman speak with the three.
"I have nurtured the three of you because you three hold data compatible with ancient digimon thought to be extinct." The woman said. "Eventually, the time will come when you will be chosen to protect this world. You will find your lives entrusted with humans. I have to seal your data with in each compartment. Sadly, your memories of me will be erased to help protect the secret. Only those who have proven to be worthy to wield such power will free you from your seals. The ones you are meant to be with will free you and your future shall be with them." When she said that, Hawkmon and Armadillomon went towards the eggs, but Veemon stayed behind.
"I don't want my memory erase."
"I know, Veemon. I won't forget you." The woman said as she hugged him like a child with the real Veemon shedding a tear. "However, you must forget me." She said as she placed Veemon with the others. Then, she had the three of them digitally break apart and their data was stored inside the eggs.
"Unbelievable..." Davis said as he voiced what everyone was thinking, especially the digimon involved.
"So that's how Veemon and the others ended up under those eggs." Wormmon said.
"This is how armor digivolving must have been created." Ken said. "It sounded like it never mattered what eggs Davis and the others would have lifted. They got the digimon that were meant for them. Still, who is she?"
"You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" The woman said as it actually responded to them. "Who better than the person that made this to destroy you." She claimed as she turned to them and actually turned into Athena. It was no illusion this time as that faded away. The real Athena stood before them.
"You... You worked with Gennai. You made armor digivolution!" Ken said as they were meeting with the very person who made Davis' and the others journeys possible.
"I did, and I now shall erase those mistakes." Athena said.
"But why?! Why would you want to destroy us when you made this possible?!" Davis called.
"Because I learned that it was really pointless. The vast darkness can't be fought. It's an infinite conflict between light and darkness where the only way to obtain true stability and peace is through absolute destruction." Athena said. "In truth, all of existence came from nothing. We all came from the concealing powers of the dark. Now, I see that we all will return to the darkness on once we came." That was when she snapped her fingers and something was coming out of the ground. It rose from right under her feet and she sat upon it with it being the size of an elephant, but was all boney. "Be crushed by SkullMammothmon."
"That's not going to happen because you gave us the weapon to use against you!" Davis said as he and the others were thinking the same thing: fight her with her own creation.
"Digi-Armor Energize!"
"Veemon armor digivolve to...Flamedramon, The Fire of Courage!"
"Hawkmon armor digivolve to...Shurimon, The Samurai of Sincerity!"
"Armadillomon armor digivolve to...Digmon, The Drill of Knowledge!"
"Patamon armor digivolve to...Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"
"Gatomon armor digivolve to...Nefertimon, The Angel of Light!"
"We might not be able to armor digivolve, but we can still fight." Ken said.
"That's right. Let me at them." Wormmon said as he too was joining in the fight.
"Wormmon digivolve to...Stingmon!"
"Futile." Athena said as she wasn't the least bit concerned. Stingmon was the first to try to attack as he tried to strike with his stinger, but SkullMammothmon easily swatted him away with its trunk. Digmon and Shurimon tried attacking themselves as Digmon fired some drills and Shurimon stretched out his arms, but their attacks just bounced off his metal body. SkullMammothmon simply thrashed around and knocked both of them away. Flamedramon jumped up in the air and tried to attack Athena herself.
"Fire..." Flamedramon had her right in his sights, but then he saw who Athena once was and couldn't bring himself to attack. That opening caused SkullMammothmon to knock him right out of the air.
"Golden Noose!" Pegasusmon and Nefertimon tried combining their power in a brilliant lasso and tried to tie SkullMammothmon. However, SkullMammothmon resisted and lunged its head forward. The moment tossed both of them into the cave wall. It would seem that mega digimon are truly superior to armor digimon.
"Kill them." Athena said with a snap of her fingers. That was When SkullMammothmon started spinning in circles as fast as the big guy could and was shooting bone shards everywhere.
"Run!" Ken called as they all tried to take cover from the attack. All of them hit the ground and tried to endure the attack. The digimon weren't as lucky as each one of them was struck by the attack and force to revert back to their previous forms. It would seem they might not be able to win now.
"Now that you know the truth of your origin, rest in peace for when you cross to the vast void of nothingness." Athena said.
"Why?!" Kari said as she was the first to get up. "Why are you doing this? You were once a friend of Gennai? Weren't you trying to protect the Digital World? How could you just turn against all of what you were working for?"
"I just simply learned the truth of existence itself." Athena said. "When I did, I knew what must be done. To truly end all conflict and struggle is for the world to be destroyed and face oblivion."
"But that's not true." Kari said. "Look at what you did for Veemon and the other digimon. Don't those times mean anything to you."
"The past is past. What's done is done and can't be changed or fix." Athena said. Implying that those times meant nothing, Veemon was hurt and now wants to defeat her. Even if he doesn't fully remember her, those moments weren't ones to be thrown away. "I think you, one who bears the light, shall be the first to fall." SkullMammothmon followed Athena's orders as he raised its foot and was about to smash it down on Kari. Hackmon was tempted to become Jesmon and step in. Kari would have been crushed as the others wouldn't get to her, but Davis did. He moved as fast as he could and managed to tackle her out of there before she got crushed.
"Are you okay?" Davis asked.
"Yeah." Kari was as she was impressed with how fast Davis moved. After that, Davis got back up and managed to dust himself off.
"Lady, you're really something." Davis said. "You're the reason Veemon and I found each other, and now you're saying you want to return everything to nothing. I don't know what happened that made you like that, but it must have been something so bad that you forgot what's really important."
"Your point?" Athena questioned. It was then Davis thought about what his father really told him.
"It became so dark that you couldn't see the light, but the light is always there even if you can't see it." Davis said. "Maybe it's hard to see because the light was inside you the whole time. Focus on the good that you do have." That's Davis nearly lost sight of himself. He still has great friends, his family, and a great digimon partner with Veemon with adventures of a lifetime. He might have almost lost all of that before, but he has it now. That's what really matters. "My point...is that I see the light...inside me! I won't be lost in the dark ever again!" That was when his D3 began to shine a bright gold light.
"Davis!" Veemon called as he could feel Davis' power radiating in him. Veemon was surrounded by a golden light himself and completely transformed with him becoming Magnamon suddenly.
"Veemon is Magnamon!" Cody said.
"How did he...?!" Ken said as they were all amazed with how that happened. No mincing words as Magnamon unleashed a powerful attack with a series of golden blasts. All of them blasted SkullMammothmon with such force and power that this fight was over in an instant. Athena had no choice except to open a warp and retreat while she still could. In less than in minute, this fight was over with SkullMammothmon becoming just data. Everyone was amazed with what they just saw. Magnamon truly holds the power of a mega. When the fight was over, Magnamon became Veemon again.
"That was weird. That time felt different." Veemon said.
"Yeah..." Davis said as he checked out a few things and saw they still have some work to do. "We tapped into it, but we still haven't unlocked it."
...
The Human World
After what happened, Davis and the others went back to the human world. They were satisfied with the answers they got, but they knew they still had their work cutout for them. What they saw in the cave...was a lot to take in.
"At least now we know a lot more than we did before." T.K. said.
"I still can't believe the woman was the one who made things possible for us." Armadillomon said.
"No... That woman is gone." Vemon said as he felt sad by it.
"I assume that, like me, she was corrupted by the powers of darkness. Only... I'm not sure she can come around like I did." Ken said.
"So what do we do?" Yolei questioned.
"What we always do. We'll keep fighting." Davis said as he's sure they can do this. 'I know I'm on the right track. I know unlocking that golden digiegg will be a key to winning this fight. I've got to unlock it.' It would seem the team is on the track to something, but now that they know more of what they are dealing with, how can they face the dark truth of this situation?